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November 29, 2011

Dateline Greencard Lottery 2012 !

US Government reports: Green Card Record Number of Winners Published

US Government reports: Green Card Record Number of Winners PublishedThe US government has recently released the statistical breakdown of the DV-2012 diversity visa program, the so-called green card lottery.

Approximately 110.000 successful applications for US permanent residence were randomly selected from more than 13.6 million entries which were received during the 60-day submission period last year.

However, only half of the selectees will actually receive a green card. The other half is expected to either not follow through with the application process or be disqualified due to strict educational and financial requirements requested from all winners.

More than half of all applicants were born in a developing country. The top three countries in terms of winning entries were Ghana, Nigeria and Bangladesh, Together they account for more than 15% of the total number of winners.

Due to per-country limitations, only 3,500 winners per country are allowed to receive a green card. Even if educational requirements are met, more than half of Ghana´s 8,752 winners will therefor not be able to actually come to the USA.

While the green card lottery is especially popular in less developed countries, interest is rising in Europe as well. A new research by the Pew Institute in Washington has shown that confidence in Obama has lifted the US image considerably around the world, especially in Germany, where US favorability has risen from 31% during the Bush years to 64% this June.

This research is supported by a record number of green card applicants from Germany last year. The submission period for the green card lottery lasted for about four weeks after the last presidential election. During that time, there was an increase of almost 150% in applications from most European countries." More applicants result in a relatively higher number of successful participants as well. In Germany, for example, 2,188 people actually won the green card - the highest number recorded during the last decade.

America's Coolest Coffeehouses (PHOTOS)

Blame Seattle. A certain coffee shop chain started there four decades ago and changed the way Americans thought about coffee. Dried-out coffee flakes sold in tin cans were out. Highly polished European contraptions that hissed noisily and sent forth geysers of steam were in.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the rapid expansion of Starbucks and other standardized chains, small coffeehouses are flourishing. Americans are increasingly educated about their coffee and evaluate these independents with chains as a benchmark: is the coffee better or more interesting? Is the environment more appealing? Does it have an engaged clientele, or is it a generic "coffeeworld" where you get your cup to go, head bowed?Coffeehouses that meet the criteria for cool each stand out from the crowd and attract us for diverse reasons. Travelers have an extra appreciation for a neighborhood coffeehouse with personality -- the last thing you want to drink on vacation is your workday cup of joe. We pop in to refuel after hours of pounding the pavement, but also to sample regional brews, people-watch, and find out about local goings-on.
Coffee: it's the best legal drug. We know because the right cup in the right place can change your reality.
--Wayne Curtis

The Roasting Plant: New York City

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This shop strives to shrink time--between roasting, grinding, brewing, and drinking--and brews your beans on demand. Mike Caswell, a onetime Starbucks employee, spent five years developing the cutting-edge technology. Leave enough time to scope out the Javabot, which involves Jules Verne-ish tubes shuttling coffee beans from bin to cup.

American Airlines files for bankruptcy

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- American Airlines parent AMR, one of the few major U.S. airlines to avoid bankruptcy, finally succumbed Tuesday and filed for chapter 11.
AMR said that all of its subsidiaries will honor tickets and reservations and operate normal flight schedules during the bankruptcy process.
The airline also announced that Gerard Arpey, its chairman and CEO, is retiring. He is being succeeded by Thomas Horton, who said at a press conference that Arpey had opposed the bankruptcy filing.
In an interview with CNN's Richard Quest, Horton said the airline was forced into bankruptcy because of cost disadvantages it faced compared to rivals that had already gone though bankruptcies.
"Folks at American have worked very hard and honorably to avoid that path over the last decade, but it became clear that gap had become too wide now, it had become untenable, and it was time to turn the page," said Horton, who was named president of AMR in July 2010.
Before Tuesday's filing, American, Southwest (LUV, Fortune 500) and JetBlue (JBLU) were the only major U.S. airlines that had not filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
The timing surprised airline analyst Jeff Kaufman of Sterne Agee, since AMR had enough cash to ride out losses probably through next year.
At the same time, he said the filing makes sense because of several factors, including increased fuel prices, AMR's loss of business travel customers to competitors and tough labor union negotiations.
American was the world's largest carrier as recently as 2006. But mergers have pushed it to third in terms of miles flown by paying passengers, behind United Continental (UAL, Fortune 500) and Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500).
American has been widely seen as the weakest of the major airlines for some time now. It has reported a profit in only one quarter since 2007, and it lost $4.8 billion over those 3-1/2 years. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect its losses to continue through at least 2012.
Still the company officials had been insisting that it was not looking at bankruptcy.
On Tuesday, Horton told CNN that bankruptcy "never has been a goal or preference."
He said that American is paying $800 million a year more in labor costs than it would be if it had labor contracts comparable to its competitors.
"Clearly it was our preference to do this in consensual fashion," he said. "Unfortunately, we were not successful in that regard." American will now gain significantly greater leverage in those talks given the bankruptcy court's power to void contracts.
Kaufman, the industry expert, said American needs contracts that would allow it the greater flexibility and lower staffing levels that other carriers have.
Horton also told CNN that it planned to move ahead with a massive order for 460 jets from Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and Airbus it announced in July.
American's current fleet includes 247 MD-80 planes that haven't been made since 1999 and are considered to be fuel guzzlers.
The airline said that its cash reserves, coupled with the cash from ongoing ticket sales, should give it the funds it needs during reorganization. Therefore, it will not need what is known as a debtor-in-possession loan that bankrupt companies typically use to operate under Chapter 11.
Shares of AMR (AMR, Fortune 500), which had already plunged nearly 80% since the start of the year, tumbled another 81% to 30 cents a share on Tuesday. Shareholders are typically wiped out during the bankruptcy process.

November 18, 2011

According to the US State Department, only eight million people applied to win a green card in this year's US Diversity Visa lottery, compared to the record 15 million applicants last year.

A US State Department spokeswoman attributed the drop in applications this year to the fact that Bangladeshi citizens weren't eligible to participate. The South Asian nation in years past had submitted the most applications but, as of this year, is no longer classified as a low-immigration country to the US.

The diversity-visa lottery is an immigration program that offers a quick path to permanent U.S. residence for up to 50,000 people each year who are selected randomly by the US government. Applicants are from countries that send few immigrants to the US. Earlier this year, a computer error forced the government to redo the previous lottery, after 22,000 applicants were incorrectly notified that they had won a green card.

In Africa, the source of most entries now, the month-long entry period generates a torrent of applicants. This year, the three countries that submitted the most entries were: Nigeria, with 1.36 million; Ghana, with 909,000; and Ukraine, with 853,000.

Last year, Bangladesh accounted for 7.6 million entries.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that they believe the number of applicants could decrease even more in coming years because of a recently passed measure in Senate that charges a fee for entering the electronic draw, starting with next year's drawing.

In October, the US Senate approved a bill to extend federal benefits to disabled refugees living within the US. Based on an earlier deal worked out by Senators, the $36 million in aid will be offset with revenue generated by a new $30 fee for individuals applying to enter the country through the diversity-visa lottery program.
The results will be announced in May 2012.